Almond Board of California (ABC) Global Technical and Regulatory Affairs (GTRA) staff recently organized a trip to the Port of Oakland for the 2019 Almond Leadership Program participants. This trip gave participants and opportunity to see what it takes to “move almonds around the world,” information that was largely new to the young leaders as most were unaware of how a port works. Getting this bird’s eye view of the port system is especially important as almonds are the highest valued commodity shipped through the Port of Oakland.
The group was hosted by Ron Brown of the Oakland Port Authority, who not only dedicated time to speak with the group but also arranged a tour of the port that allowed the group to see all the activities up close and personal, activity the unloading of truck and loading of shipments.
Susan Ransom of the SSA Terminal also joined the group and gave a more detailed explanation of activities at the SSA Terminal. She talked about raising the height of the cranes, which allows workers to load higher tiers and which accommodates the larger TEU ships, and about the Shippers Transport Express Inland Yard at French Camp. She then led the group on its official tour of the port that included access to the restricted SSA Terminal.
Loretta Esau of Hapag-Lloyd, a leading liner shipping company, met with the group and shared the history and scope of their operations. Then, wrapping up the day, JJ Magdaleno of Terranova Trading in Oakland, who graduated from the Leadership program in 2013, spoke to the group about the role and responsibilities of a trader. At the end of the day, the Leadership participants left with a better understanding of the value of a trader.
The day was extremely successful in not only showing how a port operates but also sharing how ABC and the GTRA team interacts with the port, shippers and traders to keep almonds moving around the world.
